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Vox Machina
Vox Machina is a group of adventurers based in Tal'Dorei and the protagonists of Critical Role. They were originally a group of mercenaries that joined together for a job, and now the fate of the world rests on their shoulders. Founding Name .]] Before calling themselves Vox Machina, they had once called themselves the Super High-Intensity Team, but because of the acronym that such a term spelled out, the players decided to abandon the name once they began to gain some renown. They also debated calling themselves the Order of the Brotherhood of the Sisterhood, but it was shot down. They then chose the name Vox Machina, a group of adventurers of some renown. Road to Renown When first forming, the members of Vox Machina had met previously when they had helped out an individual within Stillben. Afterwards, when the members each individually or in their respective groups looked at a bulletin post for jobs and saw one, they decided to form a group out of necessity and band together. Their first mission involved a conspiracy within the town. One of the first major encounters the party had with a creature was a lich that had just reanimated and was in a weakened state. Vox Machina's first major assignment was investigating the disappearance of children. After gathering information, they learned that a week before the kids vanished they were seen playing with a child with long black hair and golden eyes. After saving the city of Emon from a demon insurrection for the throne, they noticed the described child talking to Sovereign Uriel Tal'Dorei III son, and pursued the child. They ended up in the dimension of the Dread Emperor, where they discovered that he was responsible for the abduction of the children. They ultimately defeated him. Greyskull Keep was built in their honor for saving Emon. However, they were unable to savor this testament to their valor, as they were quickly sent on a quest to rescue a someone called Lady Kima of Vord by Lady Allura Vysoren. Members Originally, Vox Machina was a group of eight adventurers and Vex'ahlia's companion, Trinket. Tiberius parted from the group amicably in .On 2015 October 28th, at 6:40pm PST, it was announced live on the Geek and Sundry Twitch channel that due to a mutual parting of ways, Orion Acaba would no longer appear on Critical Role. Matthew Mercer repeated the announcement at the beginning of . Alignments Originally, the alignments of Vox Machina were as follows: Keyleth, Percy, Scanlan, and Vex were neutral-good, Pike, Tiberius, and Vax were chaotic-good, and Grog was chaotic-neutral.Q&A at the end of . After , there was an unspecified alignment change to a character,Matthew Mercer confirmed on Twitter that a character's alignment had shifted. which was likely either Percy or Tiberius due to their actions during said episode. After , Vex's alignment changed to chaotic neutral due to many behaviors and actions culminating in the theft of Gern Blanston's flying broom and then lying about it.Matthew Mercer confirmed on Reddit that Vex'ahlia had officially shifted alignment to chaotic neutral. Roles Vax is one of the main damage dealers in the group, partly because he tends to be the one scouting ahead, though he is sometimes accompanied by his sister Vex'ahlia. Grog carries the group's Bag of Holding and is another of the main damage dealers, serving as a tank and protecting the less armored party members. Scanlan is occasionally used for infiltration and subterfuge, and Keyleth has been known to do aerial reconnaissance and transportation. Pike is the group's main healer, though Keyleth, Vex, and Scanlan also have healing abilities, albeit to a more limited extent. Percy is known for creating explosive and other types of arrows for Vex to use in combat, as well as crafting his own ammunition. He also tends to handle negotiations most of the time. Keyleth acts as the conscience of the group. Though others may agree with her, she is often the most vocal about doing the right thing or worrying about a person's well-being, against more eloquent members who don't share her concerns. Relationships Within the Group As siblings, Vex and Vax are very close. They were very upset when they had to be separated during the Trials of the Take. When Vax was near death during their first encounter with the Briarwoods, one of his final thoughts revealed that he considered Vex to be his best friend. During that same near-death experience of his life flashing before his eyes, Vax saw Keyleth and thought of her beauty. Vax later revealed, after almost dying again, that he is in love with her. This greatly flustered Keyleth, but she admitted to having some feelings for him, too. Despite having those feelings, however, Keyleth revealed that she was afraid of pursuing the relationship . Over time, she became progressively more open to their growing bond. Keyleth later explained that, because of her fear of outliving and losing everyone, she couldn't allow herself to truly love Vax. Vax didn't talk to Vex about his love for Keyleth, which caused some tension between them. Vex also, for the most part, seemed to resent their potential relationship initially and made a point of disturbing their private moments, and she teasingly reminded them that Kashaw kissed Keyleth when they returned to Vasselheim. When Kashaw returned to Keyleth's life, however, Vex wasn't as resentful as expected and instead tried to encourage the druid to make her move with Vax, which she did when she openly kissed him after Grog's test of character against Earthbreaker Groon. Vex continued adjusting to the reality of her brother's feelings, and after the party survived the slaughter of Umbrasyl, she asked Vax what's going on with him and Keyleth, but Vax refused to answer. Vex then asked how Keyleth feels about him, and Vax replied, "Ask her." So, Vex promptly asked Keyleth, who reluctantly admitted to having feelings for Vax and asked if Vex would hate her for that. Vex, after her death and resurrection, however, was no longer resentful and encouraged the druid to just be happy and not live in fear. Grog and Pike are very close friends after she saved his life when his uncle beat him to near-death for protecting her great-great-grandfather Wilhand. Pike even thinks of Grog as being like a brother. Scanlan has very strong feelings toward Pike and carries a small statue of her. Pike is uncomfortable with his womanizing and juvenile behavior, but she and Scanlan are still close friends. As Vox Machina's quest to stop the Chroma Conclave became increasingly dangerous, Scanlan wrote a letter to Pike , which she promptly read after he gave it to her , that expressed some of his thoughts and feelings and asked Pike to do certain things should he die. Pike admitted that she does love Scanlan and that her feelings for him are growing "in a weird way", but she loves someone else very much. She promised to do the things in his letter. Scanlan frequently picks on Trinket and suggests leaving him behind,See the "Why Don't We Leave Trinket Behind?" article from CritRoleStats. which typically elicits a reaction from Vex that is either amusing and animated or dangerous and "dragon-eyed". Keyleth and Tiberius have a strong friendship. Oftentimes, the two try to support each other when in combat or escaping. Tiberius also views Keyleth as elven royalty and typically refers to her as "Your Highness". When Tiberius left, it was Keyleth he asked to say his goodbyes to Allura. For her part, Keyleth seems to view Tiberius as a sort of advisor whenever she is emotionally upset. shaving off Grog's beard while he sleeps, by Amanda Elm.Fan art of Vax shaving off Grog's beard while he sleeps, by Amanda Elm on Tumblr.]] Grog and Vax have an antagonistic relationship and often play pranks on each other. Grog, like Vex, seems to have little empathy for Vax and Keyleth's growing relationship, and Grog tries to embarrass Vax in front of Keyleth by pantsing him (but fails). However, when facing off against Earthbreaker Groon, Vax was one of the people Grog asked to fight alongside him, which suggests that whatever his feelings toward Vax, he at least respects Vax's combat prowess. Grog and Scanlan are buddies, often spending their free time in the same pursuits.Grog's intro Scanlan was the first person to whom Grog told his concerns about Craven Edge and Scanlan advised Grog on what to do about it. As the characters have matured and emerged from life-changing events, Keyleth and Percy have begun disagreeing frequently on matters of diplomacy and leadership. Keyleth has become very concerned with Percy's morality, pointing out that he has a history of making terrible deals with dangerous partners, while Percy thinks Keyleth comes off as snobbish. Percy thinks Vex's greed is endearing. Vex is very appreciative of Percy tricking her out with ammunition, Hawkeye-style. She even refrained from looting his family home. Since reclaiming his heritage, Percy has access to Whitestone's wealth again. However, Percy and Vex's eagerness to loot Purvan Suul's sarcophagus led to Vex dying from a necrotic explosive trap. While Percy feels he owes Vex because he triggered the trap, Vex feels a sense of freedom now that she experienced death and understands how important it is to seize opportunities in this life. After Vex stole Gern Blanston's Broom of Flying and fell from it, Percy began modifying it to add a strap so Vex doesn't separate from the broom when falling, as well as stabilizing leg grips to aid in her archery aim while flying. Percy later granted Vex a title, surprising her with it when he tried to raise her worthiness to her father, Syldor Vessar. The title granted was "Lady Vex'ahlia, Baroness of the Third House of Whitestone and Grand Mistress of the Grey Hunt". Taliesin Jaffe clarified that it is "Grey", not "Great". Allies and Friends See also: Category:Allies * Council of Tal'Dorei * Lady Allura Vysoren * Cassandra de Rolo * Shaun Gilmore * Lady Kima of Vord * Osysa, Kamaljiori, and the Slayer's Take * Earthbreaker Groon * The Ashari Enemies Vox Machina has defeated many foes over the years. There are also a few groups of people that would probably oppose them when the time comes. Alive * Thordak and the Chroma Conclave * The Clasp * Anna Ripley * Master Vouk * Duke Vedmire Dead * Dread Emperor * King Murghol and Queen Ulara * K'Varn * Clarota: Initially an ally, Clarota was killed after he was reconnected to the hive mind of the elder brain and turned on Vox Machina. * The Briarwoods and some of their associates, Sir Kerrion Stonefell, Count Tylieri, Professor Anders, and Riskel Daxio. ** Although the Briarwoods are dead, the magic-siphoning orb they created has not been dealt with yet. * Kevdak: Grog's uncle. * Umbrasyl: Ancient black dragon from the Chroma Conclave. References Category:Content Category:Vox Machina Category:Factions Category:Slayer's Take